Henri Matisse
dal 20/10/2003 al 11/1/2004
Segnalato da
20/10/2003
Henri Matisse
IVAM Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno, Valencia
An extraordinary opportunity for the visitor to discover the close relationship connecting the artist's delicate bronze sculptures with his paintings, engravings and drawings. The 58 sculptures presented date from 1901 to 1949, and together with the 20 engravings and 15 drawings, they depict the distinct periods characterising the creative work of Henri Matisse.
Organised by:
IVAM (Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno)
Curator:
Martine Soria
This exhibition and the catalogue that accompanies it are designed as an
homage to Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (1869-1954), undoubtedly one of the
central figures in 20th century art. Exhibitions dedicated to the works of
Henri Matisse are not very frequent in Spain, so that this one, held by
the IVAM in its gallery 7, is an extraordinary opportunity for the visitor
to discover the close relationship connecting the artist's delicate bronze
sculptures with his paintings, engravings and drawings. The 58 sculptures
presented date from 1901 to 1949, and together with the 20 engravings and
15 drawings, they depict the distinct periods characterising the creative
work of Henri Matisse.
In the presented sculptures, some topics characteristic of Matisse's own
work as well as of contemporary sculpture can be detected. These topics
include the subordination of the detail to a dominant rhythm, as in the
lineal and continuous arabesque of Nu Couché I (1907), Aurore (1907) or La
Serpentine (1909), as well as expressive deformations reminding of primitive
sculptures, or the process of simplification expressed in his monumental
series Nu de Dos.
Matisse's sculptures correspond to some reasonably precise periods in his
career: The first one covers his time in Paris from1900 to 1906 and in
Collioure in 1907; back in Paris in 1908, his approach to the third
dimension continues until 1915, when he lived in Issy-les-Moulineaux.
Later, in Nice (1918 to 1932), Matisse simultaneously works with paint and
volume. Throughout his creative life, he adopts influences from the
various artistic movements shaping the 19th and 20th centuries. In his
sculptures he unites the elegance and grandiosity of Neoclassicism with
the scientific research of light, shadow and contrast typical of
Impressionism, including elements of Realism and Postimpressionism.
Each of his sculptures, which are few compared to the great number of
drawings, paintings and engravings he produced, plays an important role in
a plastic trajectory in which the exploration of light was central.
IVAM- Institut Valencià d'Art Modern
Guillem de Castro 118, 46003 Valencia
Telf: +34 96 38 67680
Fax: +34 96 39 21094